Scoring on a short stop in Fiji

After getting deported from Oz and the bullshit mission getting back to Fiji... once I stepped off the plane, felt the hot humid air, had a whiff of that sweet island smell, and heard the dudes jamming island tunes in the immigration line, everything was good again.  Not sure I could have asked for a better last few days of this 4 month journey.

 

Stayed up waaay too late drinking Fiji Gold and playing pool with Che and crew that night, woke up the next morning, had a giant breaky at Cardos and hopped on a few skis out to score head high Restaurants and then over to pumping overhead rights at Swimming Pools with a handful of guys out.   Guys were saying they haven't seen it that good.  Fiji is magical.  Kicking myself for not having my camera this day.... damnit.  Wore the wrong shirt in the water and my nipples got rubbed raw. Scabby nipple tips are not fun.

The Comp

Wilkes going nuts across the channel

 

Hit it hard in Nadi Town that night and hopped on the boat early to head out to a local comp at Namotu Lefts.  Thanks to Uri and Adrenaline crew for one hell of a day!  It was the best I had seen it. Some good ones coming in but still turned a bit fat after the drop. I filled in for Che in the comp (His eyeballs were absolutely fried from the previous day, everybody's were...  had to be something in the water) and ended up making the Semi Finals. We decided to bail on it and head over to Restaurants to get a few... best call ever.  Restaurants was head high and perfect.  Such an amazing wave.  Long, fast, hollow. It keeps growing bigger as it rolls down the reef. What more do you want in a wave?  Maybe a reverse version of it.  Yeah, that would pretty much be all... Restaurants as a Right. Heaven.  Ended my last session in Fiji with a nice little one, a few good whacks off the top and tucked into a cozy little tube that just barely let me out.  Cold beers back on the boat.  Life can be a dream.

Back at Cardos for beers and a big feed and that's where we met Dr. Bones.  This old hippie guy pops out of nowhere and next thing we know he's sitting with us slamming beers like they're water and talking about the 13 crystal skulls of the Mayans, portals on mystic mountain tops, energy crystals, Indian priests, and the end of the world in 2012, and also something that's gonna go down this March 20th... "You thought the quake in Christchurch was bad...".  He's been living in Puerto Escondido for 15 years eating peyote or something and healing injured surfers.  Now he's starting a (witch?) doctor clinic on an island in Fiji. The guy is a trip. The weird part about Dr. Bones showing up was he just happened to have a box of some crazy Chinese eye medicine that he dropped in our sunburned eyes.  Stuff worked.  We were all sitting there screaming with tears rolling down our face... it stung like hell but worked.  Trippy... man.

Dr. Bones doing some painful voodoo on Che

That was it.  Easy flight home.  Now I'm sitting here at home in Uggs, fuzzy pants and jacket and a beanie on one of the coldest days of the year... sunburned, jet lagged and completely stoked!!

 

Special thanks to Che, Cardo, Teh, Chloe and the Adrenaline crew for taking real good care of me! I'm in debt to you.

The Bowels of Travel

Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose... and get deported.

Most times things go as planned. Smooth, short layovers. Planes and busses are on time. A new security line opens up and you get to bypass 40 people fumbling to get the change out of their pockets. Plenty of time for an over priced beer as you gaze out the window and see your boards being delicately loaded on the plane. Sexy girl with great convo sitting next to you. Traveling is awesome!

But sometimes the evil travel monster bites off your wang, chews it up and spews it all over the rest of your day... or two... or three... or in my case 3 years.

Here's the last 48 hours...

Leave Nic and Jim's place in Margaret River. On way to bus stop, Nic and I decide to go for one last quick beer. Little Creatures Ale Yum! Bus ticket says 4:50pm departure. One quick beer turns into two quick beers. Get to bus stop at 4:48pm. No bus. Call bus Co... Bus left at 4:30pm. WTF?? But my ticket says...???
Have to drive to Bussleton bus stop to try and catch bus. Turn 40 minute drive into 25 minute drive. Interception!
4 hr bus ride to Perth airport. 3 hours early for redeye at midnight:30. Check in, find out flight has magically changed to 11pm. Good thing I was early. WTF??? Kill time with beer. Watch news of Christchurch getting rocked and worry about friends. Sad. Plane on time. One-two winks of sleep on plane. Wonder why they dont just make the seats fixed in the laid back position, which is about a 1 inch difference from the upright position. Idiots. Somebody close to me, maybe even right next to me, is farting the whole way and for once its not me. Gross. Babies... Crying. Arrive in Melbourne at 5am. Drag boards to international terminal. Go through customs and immigration... All clear. Life is good... I'll be in Fiji by 3pm drinking an ice-cold Fiji Gold under a palm tree on the beach... Bitch! Haha not so fast son. Where's da plane, da plane? Missing. 8:40am flight turns into 11am turns into 12:30 turns into 3pm turns into 6pm turns into 8pm flight. Each delay everybody gets free meal and drink vouchers... Including alcohol. Not bad. Smash beers. Wander the airport. Flirt with cute girls with dumb looking boyfriends. Jam guitar. Sleep on floor. "Can I have your attention... We need 13 volunteers to give up their seats... Full ticket refund... We'll get you on a flight tonight to Fiji but have to fly you out of Brisbane." Lucky number 13. Fuck. OK. Count me in. Just get me the hell out of this airport. 12 hours in terminal=Feverish. The 13 reFijis are escorted out of international terminal to domestic terminal. Go through customs and immigration again.... Same airport. Lots of arguing between airline guys and customs guys. Cutting it close to get on flight to Brisbane. Everybody gets passports back but me. Shit. They're all waiting on me. And my boards are not in the reFiji luggage pile. WTF?? Immigration head lady pulls me aside and let's me have it. I'm an illegal alien and have been for about 60 days. WTF?? Plane is gonna leave without us. Get banned from entering Australia for 3 years. I will be Escorted to the international terminal when I land in Brisbane and kicked the fuck out :( Ooopsy daisy. Should've looked into my visa situation from last year. My boards show up. Scramble to check-in all 13 reFijis and blaze thru security. I'm the last person on the plane. They've been waiting. Scowls from everybody as I pass. Think I heard one hiss. Meal/drink vouchers get me a few more beers on plane. Unreal sunset out window. Get a wink. Brisbane landing. Get shuffled out to private shuttle to international terminal. Immigration officer and airline rep in tow. $50 bucks for boards. Not bad. Lots of meal/beer vouchers. Two nights, two redeyes... It must be Christmas. I stink. I'm tired. I'm buzzed. Wave goodbye to Customs as I go through, immigration sits me down for another spanking. Supposedly I can appeal the 3 year ban and try to apply for another visa. Sweet. Pad Thai, more beers, fun chat with cute English birds, tight polkadot tights driving me crazy on one of'em. Plane delayed an hour. Haha! Going delirious. Board plane... Oh god here we go, sexy Asian Canadian sitting next to me... I just want to sleep. She just wants to drink and talk. Smash more beers... Have a good laugh. Pass out while she's still talking. Land in Fiji! Find out flight home has been magically moved up 1 day. WTF?? All good. Big Fishermans Breakfast at Cardos on the harbor. Wash off stank. Sleep like baby. Surf pumping Restaurants and Swimming Pools tomorrow. All worth it.

The Magical Birdcage Sessions

 Magic Perfection

This little adventure absolutely made my Fiji trip...

Since we had been stuck in the harbor waiting on a new transmission for Nola, we had been hiring a local guy to take us out to Cloudbreak to surf whenever there were waves, but always never got out there early enough and had to leave early so the capt. could get back to his island before dark.  One drunken night in Nadi Town, Panapa and I decided we'd get dropped off at the judging tower that stands over the shallow reef at Cloudbreak and spend the night on it to get the most out of the swell coming that night.  We ended up leaving the club at 5 AM when our local buddy Che decided to get himself kicked out for grabbing a full pitcher of Malibu and Pinapple juice from behind the bar and drinking it.  This was after he secretly puked on the floor by the pool tables from skulling too many rum and cokes.  Nice Che... Good times.

By 8am we had our gear on the long boat and were ready to roll.  Sam joined us for the day.  Che didnt seem to be able to make it out of bed and missed the boat... and the best waves we had surfed all trip.

Nothing more to ask for

Got out to the reef and it was pumping!  Well overhead sets, offshore, awesome!  Plenty of people out. Several boats parked up.  Got some unreal waves.  It was time for Sam and the boat to leave so we had them take us over the reef to the tower to see if it was even in good enough shape to sleep in.  It was... just barely though.  The thing was absolutely COVERED in bird shit.  Over inch deep in places.  Many birds lived in it... hence our nickname: The Birdcage.  It smelled pretty bad, kinda like... birdshit, but it had a floor and a roof and it was overlooking one of the most insane Lefts in the world,  so we decided to grab our gear and the dingy (with a powerful 2.5 HP engine!) and call it home for the next 24 hours.  We set up tarps to block the sun and wind and I kicked myself when P pulled out his hammock... I left mine on Nola... idiot!  We took a little rest and had some $1 Curry Roti's and watched the place just start firing!  Everybody had since left, we were just laughing our asses off, jumping around squawking like the birds.  This is what we came for.

Striking Gold

So as we geared up a lone Tavarua boat pulled up with a few guys on it.  These guys had the place absolutely wired with style.  A few of them turned out to work for the camp and could tell they had been surfing this place for a long time.  I cant imagine what it would be like to have had this wave all to yourself for the last 25 years!!!  For those who don't know... Tavarua Island/Surf Resort has had exclusive rights to surfing Cloudbreak for the last few decades.  And just a few months ago the Fijian Govn't lifted the rights allowing anybody to come surf it.  First of all, I think it's 100% BULLSHIT to be able to have exclusive rights to ride a wave that was formed in the ocean several hundred miles away.  CROCK OF SHIT!  But the Tavarua crew had it.  And that's part of the reason people paid unbelievable amounts of mula to stay there and surf it's waves.  But now they don't... and that's why we were there, camping in a little, rickety, stinky shack a few feet above the water about to score our brains out. : )

View from the Birdcage

This evening session was magical.  The sun was low in the sky turning the waves yellow gold green and the light offshores were sending golden spray into the sky.  Dropping into giant outside bombs all the way down the reef.  Some unreal ones.  Kicking myself for not bringing my 6'6" step-up board out there with us.  Got big, nice, round, fast barrels.  Sitting there soaking it all in.... humbling giddyness.  A handfull of guys just scoring.

Then the Tavarua boys left leaving P and I all by ourselves... hooting as we waved goodbye to the last of the crowd!  Sky and clouds turning mystical colors.  Sun setting with sets stacking up, surfing with just one buddy at pumping Cloudbreak.  Just as I was pondering whether or not there are much better moments in life... big wide one came in and as I grabbed the rail on a late drop I saw this was going to be the best wave of my time in Fiji... big bottom turn, gouge one off the top, driving down the line, grab rail, hand into the liquid to stall, colors and the water texture are still vivid in my mind, amazing vision, lip goes over, time slows, air pressure changes, the ultimate experience, my happy place, looking down the line another long section about to throw, drive into it... deep, had brief thought of not making it... then saw the light.  Came blasting out on the shoulder in front of the Birdcage, pink and orange water and sky, Tavarua island in the background, orange sun, warm air, brain set to "STOKED".  P was on the inside hooting.  I was hooting.  That was it.  Pure Euphoria.  One of those moments in surfing that will stay with me my entire life.  A collection of elements and timing that amounts to absolute magic.  This is what I came for... and this is what I'll be after as long as I live.  Those few seconds of absolute bliss.  I could leave Fiji a happy man.  But there was still the next morning!

Birdcage Sunrise

We climbed back up into the Birdcage and have tuna on crackers with more Roti's.  And watched the sunset as giant sets steamrolled down the reef, the dawn patrol looked liked it was going to be all time!  We had the best view in the house.  The birds were all coming back to roost after their day fishing at sea... they were pissed we had taken over their house.  It was a long damn night.  At high tide the waves would break and hit the bottom of the floor, I thought I was gonna take one in the face any minute.  There were thunder storms and a few sprinkles, the birds were squawking all night.  The smell was horrible, you couldnt hide from it.  The dawn finally broke and greeted us with another pumping morning at Cloudbreak.  Not a breath of wind.  Killer sunrise. Clean double overhead sets. Grubbed a pineapple and Roti and got out there.  Not much more to say about this magical session other than that it was... magical.  Late dropping big heaving waves on my 6'2".  Adrenal gland at full tilt.  Beautiful morning sun lit waves.  Big healthy waves.  Big healthy barrels.  Arms like noodles. Good shit!

Dawn Patrol with Birdcage

P and I had it to ourselves for about an hour before another boat showed up.  And after 3.5 hours we had our fill.  Back for a snooze in the Birdcage only to hear a Ski from Tavarua pull up to the tower with a few boards on the back and a camera in our face.  He kept driving around the tower taking pictures of us and then says, "Just so you know, I'll be showing these to the Fijian Govn't to let them decide if this is OK or not... just so you know."  And i thought, "Well FUCK YOU too asshole!"  I asked why, and if what we were doing was illegal and he said, "Oh yeah... I know a lot of people who would not be OK with this." and he took off, and went surfing.

Black Magic

This made me think we might have been the first ones to camp on the tower.  But I can't believe that.  But I guess we could have been realizing the place was open to the public now.  (I'll just go ahead and claim it here then: First to camp out in the Cloudbreak judge tower... P and I, all time sessions.)  I thought the guy really handled the situation wrong... which really got under my skin.  He could have just told us we were trespassing and told us to leave.  We would have graciously apologized, thanked him for the epic waves and closed up shop. But taking pictures and a Govn't threat?  What a dick!  We're just a couple of surfers looking to get some good waves and happened to be camping out among piles off bird shit on some collapsing tower in the middle of the ocean a mile from the nearest land of any kind.  Give us a little credit for trying.  A little later we watched as Mr. Photo was rushed back to Tavarua island on a boat after puncturing a lung either on his board or the reef.  Wonder how he's doing.

I can understand why the Tavarua crew might be a little bitter about all these new people coming to surf "their waves", but deep down do they really think they have the right to "own" a wave that breaks in the ocean???  I have trouble believing they do.  My advice to them, is to appreciate the private access and the mind blowing empty waves they have had over the last several decades, suck it up and deal with it like every surf camp in the world that has access to the same waves as the general public do.  You have had your time with it... now you're gonna have to learn to share... I know, life just isn't fair sometimes. And if you don't want people living on that tower, either blow it up or simply put a "No Trespassing" sign on it.  It's that easy.  Or build a floating surf camp out there and rake it in.

It was soon time for us to meet our boat guy to take us back to Nola.  We packed up the gear into the dingy and tried to start the engine but it didn't work so we drifted over the reef waiting for our ride.  Sun shining, waves pumping, each of us with a grin reaching ear to ear.... Those were The Magical Birdcage Sessions.

Fiji Times

Arrive in Nadi early AM.  Abdule holding a sign with my name scribbled on it.   Abdule insists on showing me disgusting pictures on his phone in route to Marina where Sam and Simon are waiting for me on Mothership Nola. XXX rated porn of him screwing the biggest most rancid woman I have ever seen.  It's way to early for this shit.  Hop on Nola and head straight to check surf at Cloudbreak.  Blown out and small.  Head to Musket Cove for the night. Drink beer.  Sail North up the Yasawa Island group over next several days.  Awesome anchorages.  Aqua blue waters.  Catch lots of fresh fresh.  Eat good.  Read lots of books.  "Slash" is pretty entertaining.  Rekindle love for Guns and Roses.  Refreshing thunder storms almost every night.  Easy living.  Love sailing.  Love boat life.  Guitar lessons going reasonable well.  Must be careful to avoid driving rest of crew nuts with beer fueled guitar playing attempts.

Nola somewhere in the Yasawas

Finally get first surf off Namotu.  Small but good to be paddling around.  Get smashed in Denarau Harbor. Waaaay too many beers and tequila shots at the Hard Rock.  Waitresses pour fake tequila shots for themselves... shame shame.  Simon heads back to NZ with drunken tattoo of "I Love Nola" on chest drawn by his loving son.  Wongie and I head out to surf.  Anchor off Namotu.  Rise early and head to Cloudbreak.  Sip coffee as we pull up to glassy overhead sets reeling down the reef.  Giggle like little girls as we anchor.  19 guys out.... 10 guys out... 5 guys out... Wongie and I are left alone.  WTF?  Giggle like even littler girls as we get wind-free lefts at world class break to ourselves. Loving life.  Surfed out.

Wongie with a nice Wahoo... packed out the freezer with this one!

Head back to Denarau Harbor.  Afternoon squall comes in. 15 knots winds... 25 knots.... 32 knots.  Cold rain pelting skin.  Get into harbor.  Me behind the wheel, Wongie on Anchor.  Face Nola into wind and slow to drop anchor.  Put engine in neutral.  Start swinging to side in the wind... try to go into gear again to straighten out... SHIT!  Gears not engaging.  Getting blown sideways.  2 boats behind us about to get smashed by our steel hull.  "Wongie it's not going into Gear!!!"  "WHAT???"  Wongie runs into cockpit to make sure I'm not just an idiot, I run up to bow and drop anchor. Circus sideshow. Shallow mud is holding... thank you! thank you! thank you!  Another few seconds and we would have been explaining to boat owners why their boat is sitting at the bottom of Denarau Harbor.  Storm clears.  Nola is sitting pretty.

Uuuug ug ug ug ug.  Nola tied down for Cyclone.

Mechanic says our Velvet Drive transmission is fucked.  Might have another available somewhere in Fiji.  Not the case.  Has to be shipped from NZ.  Takes it out.  Tows us into a slip. Stuck in gross harbor for weeks.  Get very feverish.  Drink lots of beer.  Lose mind.  Practice guitar.  Decide to sand and paint Nolas rust spots on deck.  Use multiple "Rust and Stain Remover", "Magic-Turn-Rust-Into-Primer" and "Road Paint" products all together.  Add a few blue racing stripes. Looks good. Job well done.  She looks like a new boat!  Rains that night.  Rust stains come back as gross purple color.  And several gummy spots that dont dry.  Damn it.  LESSON LEARNED: Always do a small test area before mixing several weird chemicals together.  Sorry Nola.

Panapa, Jo and Arunny fly in from NZ for 3 weeks to join us on Nola.  Many false hopes of new tranny getting installed the next Monday... next Wednesday... Friday.. Monday.... entire crew losing minds.  Alcohol. Cyclone supposed to hit.  Lots of wind and rain.  Shit weather. Doesn't hit Fiji. Hire village boat to take us out to find waves as much as possible.  Score really good ones.  See: "The Magical Birdcage Sessions" post above.

Finally get new drive installed!  Start up engine... still no worky.  WTF?  Throttle cable was frayed and had finally snapped.... weeks in harbor and many thousands of dollars did not need to be spent on new drive after all.... just a new $5 throttle cable.  Bad mechanic... bad!  Lots of explaining to do to mechanic boss man.  LESSON LEARNED: Troubleshoot several reasons why something might not be working.

Spend last few days sailing around.  Surfing. Drinking.  Eating.  Laughing. Get into slip in Vudi Point and pack down Nola for the Cyclone season.  Panapa and I left alone to drink Ouzo and play chess.  Leave early am.  P's boardbag slides into harbor just before leaving in taxi. Laughing. P's goes off to meet locals and hopefully ended up in some strange village getting loaded off Kava all night. I board plane for Sydney!  Bye bye.

Sailing Fiji, Vanuatu and into the unknown

 

Plans made.  Flight purchased.  Butterflies in the stomach.  Excitement in the air.  I'm off to join the Nola for another South Pacific surfing/sailing voyage!  Length of journey and final destination unknown.  The feeling I have right now is as good as it gets... this is what gets me amped, this shit right here, making big life-altering decisions in the blink of an eye, just going for it!  Life is getting shorter every day, gotta take advantage of the time left.

 

A tattoo on my shin says: Abenteuerlust, which, in German, means spirit of adventure, similar to the more common term: Wanderlust, the urge or desire to wander.

This ideology has got it's roots firmly planted in my mind.  I have trouble staying in any one place for long periods of time.  Unsettled restlessness.  My soul needs to see new things, meet new people, just experience newness... and there's a calling for me to be somewhere other than the place I ever am, but at the same time I crave security, organization and a place to call home where I can put down roots.  I enjoy feeling settled... for a while, then I get the itch.  There's always an internal conflict going on.  It's a vicious but enlightening cycle of madness.  The little Devil on one shoulder is yelling at me, saying screw it and go, move, travel, seek, explore, fly by the seat of your pants and create the adventure of your life and never look back.  The little Angel on the other is whispering things about keeping momentum in my career, planning ahead, getting in a comfortable routine and settling down in one spot for more than 6 months.  It's way more fun to listen to the little Devil but as with all things in life, I have realized there has to be a balance.  A Yin and a Yang.  So, I figure I might as well go party with the Devil for a while until the Angel speaks up a bit louder.  But then again... is the Devil really the Angel?

And with a little irony, I leave to join the Nola on the exact same day, one year ago, where I stepped foot back onto good ol' New Zealand soil after being stuck at sea for 20 days in The Crossing from Hell.  And as I write this, a year ago, I was probably saying goodbye to Nola and her crew in Tonga for what I thought might be the last time as I boarded the French vessel bound for NZ.  But... life is full of pleasant surprises.  Nola (and Cloud Break) here I come!!!